Ends
by Wings of Legacy
Summary: But after all, you don't join the army if you aren't prepared to die in some awful, morbid way. T for language, blood, and character death.


**Hey guys! Legacy here with another horribly depressing fic for you guys to process with your eyeballs. It gets sorta Eren x Mikasa at the end even though that wasn't really my intention. I don't even ship those two, it just happened. Also if you clicked this for Armin, you'll be disappointed. He's by no means a main character in this.**

**I don't own AoT, if I did many characters wouldn't be dead. *coughcough*Marco and the Levi Squad*coughcough***

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><p>Everything around him was a blur. All the sounds of chaos and death around him echoed in his head in distorted ways, like a broken set of headphones. Eren couldn't see much through the tears, dirt, and blood in his eyes. He felt frozen in time. Darkness swam at the edges of his vision, pulling him down...<p>

_This isn't right._

He wouldn't let himself die. He can't. He won't. As narcissistic as it sounds, the world needs him. There's still so much to be done. The basement back in Shiganshina is still untouched. The titans remain a threat... Mikasa would need a new life purpose as well. Eren laughed to himself, though this caused him great pain, and he coughed up a sufficient amount of blood in response. His body was covered in deep open wounds. Alone they wouldn't be much of a problem, they'd just need stitches. Infections would be the real threat. But with all of the deep, jagged tears in his flesh, he felt himself bleeding out quickly. As if all the heat were draining from his body, into the pools of sticky red around him.

What's the worst is that he can't even remember what had happened. He can't recall what exactly happened to him to leave him in such a state. Hell, he can't remember anything since they left the walls. That probably wasn't a good thing. He expelled most of his energy trying to keep himself conscious. Maria only knows what would happen to him if he passed out. Would he go into a coma? Would he just lie there, like he is now? Just waiting to get stepped on by a horse or titan? Or would he just die? Eren didn't want to dwell on the thoughts. He can't die. He won't. Involuntarily, his thoughts went to Marco. He died alone, without anyone knowing what had happened to him. Would Eren's death be any different? The formation was wrecked. From the faint screaming ringing in his ears and the metallic smell of blood (though mostly his own) in the air, he assumed it wasn't going well.

But after all, you don't join the army if you aren't prepared to die in some awful, morbid way.

Eren tried to keep his mind focused. If he let himself get distracted, if even for a moment, he feared he would lose his grip and fall into the blackness enveloping his mind. He was freezing. Losing blood has that effect. Wait... Why wasn't he healing? He didn't even think about it until now. He wasn't healing. _He wasn't healing._ Why? Was it because he was gravely injured and beyond saving? Maybe his body didn't have enough energy to heal. Or maybe he was healing, but too slowly for it to save him. All sorts of dismal thoughts racked his mind as he grew panicked. He never thought he'd be so scared of death. His breathing increased as he started growing hysterical.

_This is it. I'm going to die, and nobody will know. Hell, I bet they won't even find my body._

He had nothing to lose. He wanted someone by his side in his last moments. He knew now that he was screwed. Mikasa, Armin, even Levi by his side would be better than dying alone on the cold ground. His throat released a low, guttural sound, slowing rising into an inhuman scream. Weak and quiet, but somehow helping release Eren's fears and pain. He started twitching wildly, his eyes wide. Desperation to live was what was driving him. He shuddered on the ground as the darkness pulled him down, and it was getting harder and harder to fight it. The sinister force only seemed to get stronger when he got weaker. Eren needed to survive. That was all that was in his head. Survive, survive, survive...

"Oh my god, Eren! Oh shit... Mikasa, Eren's fucking dying over here! Come quick! Get a medic or something!"

Eren barely registered Armin's voice. He almost didn't even recognize it. Armin never cussed, he was too innocent for it. But at this point all rules were out the window. Armin sprinted towards Eren and dropped to his knees as he reached him. "Oh my god... This is bad. Eren can you here me?" Eren only stared blankly ahead of him, unable to respond. He didn't have the energy. "Oh no oh no, Mikasa hurry! He's not responding!" Eren paid little attention to Armin or Mikasa, wherever she was. He was only focused on fighting off the sinister darkness pulling him towards death. He felt warm hands on his arms and jerked backwards, instantly regretting it. Red filled his vision as pain racked his body. He let out a small whimper. "Shit... Eren hold still," Mikasa's voice. He felt her wrapping tight bandages over his wounds, trying to stop the flow of blood. He knew somewhere in his mind that it was futile, then got angry at himself for giving up. "Eren, it's going to be okay. You're going to be fine."

"Should we move him?"

"No, I don't think it's safe to. He might have broken something, and I'm not a medic so it's hard to tell. He hasn't moved much, so he might've fractured his spine or something, and moving him would be the worst thing we could do. Also... I don't think that—" Mikasa choked on her words. "I don't think he'd survive the journey home."

Eren coughed up a bit more blood, streams of red now going from the corners of his mouth to his chin. He blinked his eyes to clear them, and tried to turn his head and look at his friends. "I-I don't feel very good right now guys." He said with a faint smile. He knew all along he was avoiding the inevitable, but at least his friends are by his side now. He won't be alone. He won't be like Marco. Mikasa blinked tears out of her eyes. "Shut up, you need to conserve energy."

"I'm running on empty as it is."

"Don't say that, dammit!"

"D-don't yell, it hurts."

"... I'm sorry," Mikasa leaned forwards, lightly pressing her forehead on Eren's. Armin backed away slightly, feeling as if he were intruding on a personal moment. "Don't leave me Eren, please. You're the only family I have left. You're the only thing keeping me going in this hellhole of a world."

"I don't want to go... I don't... Mikasa, I'm so scared. I don't know what will happen. I don't want to die."

"Then don't. Stay with me. Get better. Heal yourself." Mikasa's voice was barely a whisper. She wanted to yell, to scream, to cry, but she didn't want to hurt Eren again.

"Won't heal," Eren was struggling to form words now. "Can't fight. Getting tired..."

"Don't fall asleep Eren, bad things will happen."

"Can't fight it... Really tired... But..." He choked a bit on his blood, but ended up swallowing it rather than coughing it up.

"But what, Eren...?"

"I feel better now." Eren's vision faded into blackness, Mikasa's voice, and now Armin, who he had regrettably forgotten was there, became faded and inaudible. The darkness was pulling at him again, but this time it wasn't sinister and cold. It felt warm and inviting, letting himself slip into the black. His pain faded away as he fell deeper into the darkness, the surrounding warmth carrying him into sleep.

_This isn't so bad..._

His mind gave in to a peaceful slumber. Death had won in the end, and Eren couldn't decide if it was for better or worse. All he hoped was that his death drove others to do better things, and continue to drive humanity forward when he could not.

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><p>"I feel better now." Eren whispered. Mikasa sobbed as he went limp in her arms, his eyes glazing over. She closed them for him. "I won't let this be for nothing. I'll give all I have to make sure this carries through. We'll get to the cellar. We'll kill all the titans. We won't need the walls..." Mikasa collapsed on top of Eren's body as she cried.<p>

"... We'll see the ocean. The fields of ice. The mountains. We'll see it all Eren." Armin finished. "Together we'll see it all."

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><p><strong>I don't know what's with me and writing character deaths. I seem to write some really depressing shit after 11 at night.<strong>


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